Cool
A surname with several possible origins, most likely from place-names in Britain or Ireland, and sometimes linked to older forms meaning “cool” or “cold.”
The #6,801 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,272 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Cool appears to have more than one possible source. One line of explanation connects it with place-names such as Coull in Aberdeenshire, Goole in Yorkshire, or places called Cole in Wiltshire and Somerset. Another possibility is that it is a reduced or altered form of names such as Cooley, Colley, Cowley, or even a short form of Nicole/Nicol; older writers also linked similar forms to a word meaning “cool” or “cold.”
History
19th-century surname writers treated Cool as a name with mixed and uncertain origins rather than a single fixed source. In English records it can fit the pattern of surnames taken from local places, while in Irish contexts it may also overlap with Gaelic forms and anglicized family names. The modern surname remains relatively uncommon in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname dictionaries grouped Cool with names that may ultimately trace back to place-names, while also noting that similar-looking forms could be linked to personal names like Nicol.
From the historical record
“small town of France, dep. Aveyron ; or of another, dep. Aude. COOL. From Coull, a parish of Scotland co. Aberdeen ; or Goole co. York ; or Cole, name of places cos. Wilts and Somerset ; or the same as the surname Cooley, Colley, Cowley ; or from Cole, for Nicole, Nicol. COOT. From Cornish coit, coid, a wood. Cf.…”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames